Asked Hunter Pence why he choked up on the bat the other day.
His answer: "I was always a Barry Bonds fan and if it worked for him …"
Reasonable enough.
Pence has been with the Phillies for 39 games. The team is 28-11 in those contests. He entered Tuesday night's game, his 40th with the club, hitting .325 with eight homers, 24 RBIs and a .952 OPS.
You could probably say that Pence has been the best stretch-drive pickup in the majors.
But there have been other good ones, too:
Detroit righthander Doug Fister is 5-1 with a 2.88 ERA and a 0.994 WHIP in eight starts. The Tigers are 6-2 in those starts.